Battle of Phoenix
The Battle of Phoenix was a battle during the fifth World War between the Coalition and the Fourth Reich, and is considered to be a major contributor in the boost of moral in the Confederacy of Independent States after 37 million people were killed in bombing raids by the Reich against the Confederacy that sparked the war. Prelude The Carolinian landings at San Diego and the assistance from the Free American Forces in the surrounding area showed how much troops were loyal to the United States and how much were loyal to the Fourth Reich, and battles at cities such as Corona, Norco, Temecula and Mission Viejo had proven that even the smallest of forces could cause battles to get brutal quickly. Reich forces retreating to the east were forced to dig in at Phoenix, and a majority of the civilian population had evacuated by the time fortifications were set up, and local American Militias had started to resist against Reich units, attacking artillery positions and taking down barriers such as roadblocks and points for snipers to effectively pick off Coalition forces. Minimal airstrikes behind enemy lines by the Coalition were mainly concentrated outside of cities, and Phoenix was one of the areas were the airstrikes occurred. But due to the majority of fortifications being either in cities or close to buildings such as churches, airstrikes were only allowed in places were there were large enough clearings that no surrounding buildings would be destroyed, due to the fear that there were still a large amount of civilians in the city, which was later dis-proven during the opening stages of the battle. Battle The battle started off when the 224th and 432nd Airborne Brigades of the Confederacy Army and a division of combined Free American and NORAD troops launched a ground offensive to the west and southwest of Phoenix. When resistance became heavy all over the city, air support was called in, causing Reich forces to fall back to more defendable positions. Eventually, casualties for the Confederacy, NORAD, and Free American Forces were getting to high to continue the fight on their own, so the UAC assisted with their Aerospace Fleet and some ground and air elements in pushing the Reich forces back further and at a much quicker rate than before. Then, after negotiating a price, Acheron Security ground forces came into the fight. As Reich forces fell back, Coalition forces began to encounter the fortifications that the Reich units had set up just before the battle, and in some parts of the city building to building combat was becoming a common ordeal for ground units. UAC ships and fighters managed to destroy the majority of the fortifications in the way of the ground forces, but close air support was out of the question in areas with building to building fighting. Reich forces were becoming desperate to defend the city, and General Martin called in reinforcements from areas nearby, and fighting intensified heavily in eastern Phoenix and Scottsdale. Fortifications were being torn apart by UAC ships and Reich forces were beginning to regroup east of Scottsdale to prepare for a counter attack. But Carolinian troops had come into contact with the Reich HQ by mistake, and upon discovering its significance, began looking for the commanders, who had become oblivious to the situation, and located them in the basement of the building which was being used as the command hub. During the firefight General Martin was killed, along with several command staff. A Reich Lt. Colonel, however, had surrendered without a fight, and when word had reached Reich forces that the HQ had been taken and Martin was killed, troops began to retreat east towards the mountains, which would be the catalyst for the Battle of the San Carlos Mountains. Aftermath Although this was a small battle that was fought with more than one member of the Coalition, when word of the victory reached the Confederate mainland, Carolinian moral boosted to a high point, and there were reportedly a large number of celebrations across the country. By this time, enough Confederacy troops hand been mobilized to deploy to the Americas, and surviving naval units that were confirmed undamaged from the 4th of March attacks were deployed to hunt down any and all Reich naval units that had ditched their ports in the US. Reich forces suffered a drop in moral all across the American front, and troops were forced back quicker and deeper into the US as Coalition forces continued to launch all out offensives. Due to this moral drop, the Fourth Reich would not be able to launch a counter attack until Admiral Neil Guy's defection a few days later. Category:Battles Category:Battles of World War V